All episodes Season 9 S09E05 1972-01-29 25 min 1960s BBC

Doctor Who

The Curse of Peladon, Part One

TV Flash files “The Curse of Peladon, Part One” as hour 308 of 700 in the TV Flash guide — Doctor Who (1963–) on BBC, season 9, episode 5, aired 1972-01-29, 25 min.

From the desk

How this hour is filed

This leaf is S09E05: listed hour 308 of 700 in the Doctor Who guide, hour 5 of 26 in season 9. It aired 1972-01-29 (25 min). The listed hour before it is “Day of the Daleks, Part Four” (S09E04). Next is “The Curse of Peladon, Part Two” (S09E06). Broadcast log — titles and dates, not a plot bible.

Doctor Who — The Curse of Peladon, Part One (S09E05)

Catalog log

Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.

The Doctor and Jo arrive on the medieval planet Peladon, where the Doctor is mistaken for the Earth Delegate of the Galactic Federation and Jo is mistaken for a princess. Where the Doctor uncovers a conspiracy, as he exposes the evil scheme of the high-priest Hepesh who bids to prevent King Peladon from joining the galactic Federation.

Viewer FAQ

Where does The Curse of Peladon, Part One sit in the Doctor Who guide?

S09E05 is listed hour 308 of 700 — hour 5 of 26 in season 9, season 9 episode 5.

When did Doctor Who S09E05 air?

The Curse of Peladon, Part One aired 1972-01-29 and is listed at 25 minutes.

Where should I start with the 1960s serials?

William Hartnell's First Doctor is the origin of the TARDIS-and-companions contract. Patrick Troughton's Second Doctor is the proof that regeneration works. Start at a serial whose surviving episodes interest you; missing-episode gaps are part of the classic-era weather.

In the series

Why this series still plays

A Time Lord, a police box bigger on the inside, and regeneration as infinite franchise life: Doctor Who launched from the BBC in 1963 and never really parked. Early black-and-white serials built the mythology; Hartnell-to-Troughton proved the lead could change without ending the show. The longest experiment in serialized reinvention — woolly, weird, endlessly renewable.

November 23, 1963, is a drop that never really parked. BBC's *Doctor Who* launched a Time Lord and a blue police box bigger on the inside, then treated the lead as renewable inventory. **Regeneration is the window.** Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber, and Donald Wilson were among the early architects. Early black-and-white serials built the mythology; companions, sonic screwdrivers, and cliffhangers became ritual. Rex wants woolly national inheritance. Fine. The business model is recasting without ending the show.

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